About NAIP · “In recent times, companies have started choosing candidates with industry exposure of about two years, rather than candidates with fancy degrees. Students have quickly

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER MONTH – September 12 VOL. – 3 ISSUES -10

Inside This Issue :

Latest News pg. 2-7

pg. 8-10

pg. 11-13

pg. 14

pg. 15

Notification

FAQ's on Maternity Leave

ToDo List

Latest Case laws

About NAIP

Providing Excellence through Professionalism

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Being the national governing body for the payroll profession in India, similar to other international payroll & professional counterparts in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia & South Africa;

Being the leading education, training & professional qualifications provider for the Indian payroll industry;

Being the industry benchmark for Indian payroll qualification & training;

Being a body recognised by a global payroll industry, in respect of the provision of internationally recognisable & transferable skills; Being a key contributor to Indian Government strategy within the payroll & taxation arena;

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NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INDIAN PAYROLLMumbai Office - 314, Dimple Arcade, Asha Nagar, Thakur Complex, Kandivali East, Mumbai-400101.

UK Office – 90 Long Acre, Arne Street Entrance, Convent Garden, London, WC2E 9RA,

Telephone 022 61342424, E-MAIL: , [email protected] www.naip.in

Government Tips forSafety of Women on Night Shift

The state government will soon submit a detailed suggestion list to all companies having women employees working in the graveyard shift.

Some of the important suggestions made by the state include directing every organisation to evolve an approved standard operating procedure (SOP) and a compliance report regarding training programmes for employees and the security staff. Drivers of transport vehicles will have to have a police verification done annually.

Companies will also be suggested to have co-owned transport vehicles with Global Positioning System units in all cars, along with miniature cameras which would be connected to a control room manned by trained staff in the company.

Women working between 7pm to 7am should be trained in self-defence and provided with personal safety gadgets like pepper spray.

Job seekers may want to get ready for their close-ups, a new Office Team survey suggests.

More than six in 10 (63 percent) human resources (HR) managers interviewed said their company often conducts employment interviews via video, up from just 14 percent one year ago.

In addition, 13 percent of respondents think their organization will use video more frequently to meet with applicants in the next three years.

Eighty Five percent anticipate the number of video interviews to remain the same, according to the survey, which was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 500 HR managers at U.S. companies with 20 or more employees.

Survey: Six in 10 Companies Conduct Video Job Interviews

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Jobs will be available in Banking Sectors

“Students no longer have the luxury of choosing from multiple job offers that were available to them earlier. This could explain the joining ratios rising in some companies,” .

According to industry estimates, if the current market conditions prevail, this trend would continue for the next few quarters.

Some consultants say joining ratios could rise further if students start sensing the slowdown in the economy and the job market.

Human resource consulting firms confirm this trend. Said apart from the slowdown hitting the economy, a change in the importance given to industry exposure could also be a reason for students choosing jobs over higher studies.

“In recent times, companies have started choosing candidates with industry exposure of about two years, rather than candidates with fancy degrees. Students have quickly caught on to this fact, and have chosen to join companies for add-on experience, instead of studying further,” .

Students play it safe,

choose jobs over higher education

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In the next 5 years, banks will have to recruit almost 7.5 lakh people.

Talent shortage is a universal problem. But perhaps nowhere else is it going to show up as much as in the banking sector in the country. About 7.5 lakh persons need to be recruited in the banking sector in the next five years.

There is also a critical shortage of middle management because of a spate of retirements coming up in this period has said by Director of IMPS.

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Management education in India facing crises

Is 'management education' in India in crisis? Will the mushrooming of management

institutions help the stream tide over the crisis? And, how sensitive are these

institutions and authorities concerned to the problems and challenges that have

already started bothering it?

The challenges before management education, or rather managing management

education vis-a-vis the demands posed by the industry and other socio-economic

and cultural factors, need to be properly analysed and understood from an

altogether fresh approach, opine experts.

With the concept with which management education was introduced in the country

more than 25 years old, experts have opined that it is time to respond to the

changes that have not only brought developments and progress in various fields,

but also changed old notions.

Management education is passing through a critical phase. There is a crisis of

identity, character and quality. This is the apt time to discuss and deliberate the

matter by taking stock of the situation.

Management education has grown quantitatively, but not qualitatively, and

contributed too little to the labour-rich but skill-poor economy. Too many attractive,

lucrative and competent jobs are chasing very few individuals, who are highly

talented, skilled and dynamic. An average student finds it difficult to sail through the

acid tests of the corporate sector. The element of professionalism, an important

ingredient towards building managers, is not taught by institutions imparting

management education.

Communications skill for students from rural areas is like climbing the Himalayas,

he opined

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Trade unions seek higher wages

Demanding an increase in minimum wages, trade unions supported by the All India Trade Union Congress(AITUC) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) held a dharna at the Mini Secretariat on Thursday. The workers submitted a memorandum to Punjab chief minister through the Ludhiana district commissioner. Tarsem Jodhan, trade union leader said in the past 10 years, minimum worker wages had been revised just once in Punjab. Today workers in Punjab are paid Rs 3840 per month while in Haryana the minimum wages are Rs 4700 and in Chandigarh the minimum wages are Rs 6,000. Punjab stands at number 18 in granting minimum wages to workers, while at one point it held the top spot, he added.

Jodhan said Accredited social health activists(ASHA) and mid day meal workers are not even included in the minimum wages circle. “So apart from hike in minimum wages, we want these workers to be included,” he said. Industrial workers, brick kiln workers, ASHA, mid day meal workers and many others took part in the dharna.

BHUBANESWAR: Trade unions have requested chief minister Naveen Patnaik to declare the revised minimum wage in the state soon. These trade unions are INTUC, AITUC, CITU, Bharat Mazdoor Sabha (BMS) and Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) stated that the government is yet to declare revision of minimum wage even though more than one month has passed since the labour department submitted its final proposal to the finance and law departments.

The final proposal came from labour and ESI department after it invited suggestions, objections from public and labour organizations on department's wage hike suggestion. Earlier, the labour department in a notification on April 20 had proposed a hike in minimum wage for unskilled workers from Rs 90 to Rs 125 and for semi-skilled workers from Rs 103 to Rs 145 a day. So also the minimum wages for skilled and highly skilled labourers were increased from Rs 116 to Rs 165 and Rs 129 to Rs 180 respectively.

The trade union leaders who discussed with the minister include Sauribandhu Kar, Dutikrushna Panda, Lambodar Nayak, Jogendra Tripathy, NK Mohanty, B Sahoo and KC Patra.

Trade unions seek revision of minimum wages

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Rs.115 per day minimum wage

to be made mandatory in all states

The central government is set to make the national level minimum wage of `115 per day mandatory in all states, seeking to benefit some 400 million unskilled workers across the country.

Analysts downplay the risk of a higher wage enticing labour away from agriculture.115 per day minimum wage to be made mandatory in all states

The sum is half the minimum wage of `333 demanded by trade unions and employees associations, which “will be a little hard to implement”, a labour ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

“What we have decided is that the central level floor price of `115 will be made statutory across India,” the official said, adding that since the central level minimum wage is linked to inflation, it would be revised every year.

A consultative committee attached to the labour ministry had approved the move on 27 April and a committee of secretaries gave it the go ahead in the last week of August, the official cited above said.

The labour ministry has called a state labour ministers' conference on Thursday for a final round of consultations before moving the Cabinet to amend the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, to accommodate the move.

According to the labour ministry, the minimum wage rate fixed by the Centre would make 16 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat and Maharashtra, to increase their minimum wages. It argues that there is a huge disparity in wage levels across states and this has nothing to do with their income levels.

“It is however seen that despite persistent efforts...various state governments have lagged in revising the minimum wages on a regular basis..,” said an agenda note prepared for the conference. “It is important to note here that difference in 'paying capacity' has not always been a reason for wide differential in minimum wages across the states. This is evident from the fact that many high-income states have also a poor track record.”

The labour ministry says that the effort to provide a “humane wage” will get the states' support because `115 is not high and would be sufficient only to provide just the basics to a family of four. “It will hardly impact the government exchequer. The ministry has already asked the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute to do a fresh assessment on this issue and the report is expected within a month,” said a second labour ministry official, who also did not want to be identified.

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India ranks 7th in corp governance in Asia-Pacific

India has been ranked in the seventh place in terms of corporate governance score in Asia Pacific region, says a report by global brokerage firm CLSA.According to the CLSA Corporate Governance Watch 2012 list, produced in collaboration with the Asian Corporate Governance Association, India's corporate governance score has improved by 3 percentage points but ranking has remained the same.

“This is not due to a lack of awareness by the regulators, but rather a piecemeal approach to reform and a lame duck government unable to do anything meaningful given infighting among its allies,” ACGA Research Director Sharmila Gopinath said in the report. Among the market rankings, Singapore was at the top in 2012 followed by Hong Kong and Thailand in the second and third position respectively.

In the fourth position there is a tie between Japan and Malaysia, the report said. Others in the top include Taiwan at the 6th place, followed by India (7th), Korea (8th), China (9th), Philippines (10th) and Indonesia (11th).

The report which analysed as many as 864 listed companies across Asia-Pacific markets, including Japanese and Australian firms, said that Infosys was the only Indian company that was featured in the top 20 corporate governance large caps.Moreover, there were just five Indian companies which got featured in the top 50 league table. Besides, Infosys the other four include HUL, Wipro, Titan Industries and Yes Bank.

“Despite efforts made by the corporate sector and individual regulators to raise corporate governance standards, these mostly fail to address core governance issues such as accounting standards, the regulation of auditors and obstacles to voting for investors who are unable to attend company meetings,” Gopinath added. Investors have faced issues ranging from relatively minor corporate transgressions to growing concerns about the reliability of financial statements and, at the extreme, outright fraud.

AMENDMENTS and NOTIFICATIONS

Revised Minimum Rates of Wages in State of Punjab w.e.f. 01-09-2012

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Category w.e.f. 1.3.12 monthly/daily

w.e.f. 1.9.12 monthly/daily

Unskilled 4268.00164.06

4568.00175.56

Semi-Skilled Upper 4613.00177.34

4913.00188.84

Semi-skilled Lower 4454.00171.18

4754.00182.68

Skilled Upper 4997.00192.06

5297.00203.56

Skilled Lower 4710.00181.02

5010.00192.52

Highly Skilled Upper 5443.00209.18

5743.00220.68

Highly Skilled Lower 5253.00201.90

5553.00213.40

Clerk, Time Keeper, Salesman, Conductor, Storekeeper etc.

4772.00183.42

5072.00194.92

Accountant/ Graduate Clerk, Asstt. Supervisor, Car driver, Cashier, Muneem, Stenotypist, Ugrahia.

4966.00190.86

5266.00202.36

Truck/Tempo/Bus Driver/ Supervisor/ Stenographer

5443.00209.18

5743.00220.68

178 228

The per manday increase is Rs. 11.50

Revised Minimum Wages for Harayana w.e.f 01-07-2012

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FAQ : Maternity Leave

Q. What are the criteria for PAID maternity leave?

A. An employee is eligible for 10 weeks' PAID maternity leave if-

(1) she has been employed under a continuous contract for NOT less than 40 weeks immediately before the commencement of scheduled maternity leave;

(2) she has given notice of pregnancy and her intention to take maternity leave to her employer after the pregnancy has been confirmed, such as by presenting a medical certificate confirming her pregnancy to the employer; and

(3) she has produced a medical certificate specifying the expected date of confinement if so required by her employer.

In case the length of employment service under a continuous contract is less than 40 weeks immediately before the commencement of scheduled maternity leave, the employee is eligible for 10 weeks' maternity leave WITHOUT PAY if the employee has given notice of pregnancy and her intention to take maternity leave to her employer after the pregnancy has been confirmed.

Q. How is maternity leave pay calculated? When should it be paid?

A. The daily rate of maternity leave pay is a sum equivalent to four-fifths of the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the first day of the maternity leave. If an employee is employed for less than 12 months, the calculation shall be based on the shorter period. In calculating the average daily wages, an employer has to exclude (i) the periods for which an employee is not paid her wages or full wages, including rest day, statutory holiday, annual leave, sickness day, maternity leave, sick leave due to work injuries or leave taken with the agreement of the employer, and any normal working day on which the employee is not provided by the employer with work; together with (ii) the sum paid to the employee for such periods.

Maternity leave pay should be paid on the normal pay day of the employee.

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Q. Is an employer required to pay a pregnant employee sickness allowance for absence due to attendance at medical examinations in relation to pregnancy?

A. When the employee's absence from work to attend medical examination in relation to her pregnancy, post confinement medical treatment or miscarriage is supported by an appropriate medical certificate*, any such day on which she is absent shall be counted as a sickness day. Under such circumstances, if the employee has accumulated sufficient number of paid sickness days, each sickness day shall be paid sickness allowance which is a sum equivalent to four-fifths of her average daily wages.

* The medical certificate should specify the number of days on which, and the nature of the sickness or injury on account of which, the employee is unfit for work.

(For details on sickness allowance under the Employment Ordinance, please refer to “A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance” published by the Labour Department.)

Q. Can an employer dismiss a pregnant employee?

A. An employer is prohibited from dismissing a pregnant employee from the date on which she is confirmed pregnant by a medical certificate to the date on which she is due to return to work upon the expiry of her maternity leave if:

(1)the employee has been employed under a continuous contract, and

(2)she has served a notice of pregnancy to the employer.

If a pregnant employee is dismissed by her employer before she has served a notice of pregnancy, she may serve such notice immediately after being informed of her dismissal. Under such circumstances, her employer must withdraw the dismissal or the notice of dismissal. However, the employer is not prohibited from dismissing a pregnant employee under the following circumstances :

• the employee is summarily dismissed due to her serious misconduct; or

• where it has been expressly agreed that the employment is on probation, the employee is dismissed for reasons other than pregnancy during the probation period of not more than 12 weeks.

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Q. When can a pregnant employee start her maternity leave?

A. With the agreement of her employer, a pregnant employee may decide to commence her maternity leave from 2 to 4 weeks before the expected date of confinement.

If the employee does not decide on the date, or fails to secure her employer's agreement, the employee shall commence her maternity leave 4 weeks before the expected date of confinement.

Maternity leave commences on the date of confinement if it occurs before the scheduled maternity leave.

Q. What are the legal liabilities if an employer dismisses a pregnant employee?

A. Except for those specified circumstances (Click here to see A5 for details of the employment protection to pregnant employee) , it is an offence for an employer to dismiss a pregnant employee. The employer is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a fine of $100,000. Besides, the employer is required to pay the following sums of money to the dismissed employee within 7 days after the day of termination:

(1)wages in lieu of notice;

(2)a further sum equivalent to one month's wages as compensation**; and (3)10 weeks' maternity leave pay if, but for the dismissal, she would have been entitled to such payment.

The employee may also claim remedies for employment protection against her employer if she is dismissed other than for a valid reason as specified in the Ordinance. (For details on the employment protection under the Employment Ordinance, please refer to “A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance” published by the Labour Department.)

** The one-month further sum is equivalent to the average monthly wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the date of termination of contract. If an employee is employed for less than 12 months, the calculation shall be based on the shorter period. In calculating the average monthly wages, an employer has to exclude (i) the periods for which an employee is not paid her wages or full wages, including rest day, statutory holiday, annual leave, sickness day, maternity leave, sick leave due to work injuries or leave taken with the agreement of the employer, and any normal working day on which the employee is not provided by the employer with work; together with (ii) the sum paid to the employee for such periods.

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Due Date Act Form Description

15/09/2012 Providend Fund Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR)

E-Payment of PF for Aug( Cheque to be cleared by 20th)

21/09/2012 ESI ESI Challan Payment of ESI of Aug-12

30/09/2012 P. Tax Challan Month for Aug-12

TODO LIST - SEPTEMBER 2012

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LATEST CASE LAWS

• Workman has to prove that his absence was not wilful - LLR Del. HC 989

• No enquiry is necessary on termination for a probationer - LLR Del. HC 973

• Conciliation Officer can't stay transfers - LLR Bom. HC 925

• Reinstatement with back-wages is not a rule on illegal termination - LLR Del. HC 908

• Compensation for accident is payable from date of accident - LLR Supreme Court 897

• Settlement for compensation with dependents of deceased employee will be illegal - LLR Ker. HC 1003

• Reinstatement for prolonged absence not justified - LLR Del. HC 971

• Dismissal after enquiry for continuous absence justified - LLR Del. HC 971

• Workman not worked for 240 days don't have statutory protection - LLR Del. HC 989

• A supervisor not to be a 'workman' even if not empowered to issue charge-sheet - LLR Cal. HC 949

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About NAIP · “In recent times, companies have started choosing candidates with industry exposure of about two years, rather than candidates with fancy degrees. Students have quickly